As coronavirus cases continue to surge, doctors are warning of a nighttime Omicron symptom that many people may not have known about.
While many of us are used to looking out for traditional, widely reported symptoms of the virus, which include a high temperature, a continuous cough and a loss of taste or smell, experts are now warning of others that aren’t quite so well-known.
Dr Amir Khan has said we need to ‘keep on top’ of symptoms, revealing that doctors in South Africa – where the first Omicron variant was first identified – have found patients infected with the strain of the virus have been experiencing night sweats as they sleep.
Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine, Dr Khan explained: “The symptoms that are coming out of South Africa by the doctors that are looking after patients with Omicron show these five new symptoms.
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“A scratchy throat, mild muscle aches, extreme tiredness, a dry cough and night sweats. Those kind of drenching night sweats where you might have to get up and change your clothes.
“And this is important. It’s important we keep on top of these symptoms, because if we’re going to keep track of Omicron here and worldwide we need to be able to test people with these symptoms.”
He also called for the newer symptoms to be added to the NHS website to help make infections easier to detect.
“If they go onto the NHS website and say I’ve got night sweats and I’ve got muscle aches, they may not be able to book a PCR test,” he said.
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“So we need the NHS website to keep up with these symptoms.”
Another doctor has also agreed that there are ‘more specific’ symptoms that come with the Omicron variant.
Speaking to the Express, Dr Gary Barlett said: "Symptoms of Omicron may initially seem more mild compared to infection from the Delta variant.
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"The Omicron variant of COVID-19 may very well cause the well-known usual symptoms, such as stuffy runny nose, fever, persistent cough (cough for more than half a day) sore head and throat, and loss of sense of taste and smell.
"Symptoms which may be more specific to Omicron include a scratchy throat as opposed to a sore throat, a dry persistent cough, extreme tiredness and fatigue, muscle aches and pains, and night sweats.”
The GP added: "These may be the first and only symptoms of the Omicron variant. It can be difficult to distinguish between COVID-19 and the common cold without PCR testing."
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Topics: Coronavirus